Within the framework of the negotiations between the European Union and China, the representatives of our industries exposed the difficulties met in China in terms of counterfeiting acts.
INLEX IP EXPERTISE, through his department Lex’Wine, has drawn the attention of the European Commission on the constant problem of “trademark squatting” experienced by the wine trademark owners.
For the record, this fraudulent practice consists in the registration of French “chateaux” trademarks, well known or even not so notorious , by some Chinese private individuals or experts.
This situation applies when the French chateaux have not filed their trademark in China. The Chinese applicant of the trademark (or its translation in Chinese ideograms) can then easily sue for counterfeit the legitimate owner of the mark even if the products are already sold on the Chinese market. Accordingly, the Chinese applicant may succeed to put the French winemaker out of the Chinese market.
The European Commission has been receptive to this problem and should include it in the agenda of the next negotiations’ round which will take place in the next fall.
Accordingly, INLEX IP EXPERTISE, who regularly works with the European Commission, opts for an pro-active and global resolution of the problem rather than being simply passive and doing work when requested by clients. Of course the objective is being more efficient and to limit the legal costs as low as possible.
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